Merlin has magic
by googoo
Summary: Spoilers for 5x03. A reveal story - Uther reveals to Arthur that Merlin has magic - how will it change the relationship between the two men and Arthur's ruling of Camelot? This is my first fan fiction.
1. Chapter 1

Why wasn't Arthur blowing the horn? Merlin couldn't decide what to be most afraid of: the possibility of the ghost of Uther killing him, and his son, ending all hopes of a reunited Camelot, or the likelihood that he would reveal his magic.

"Merlin has magic."

The words cut through the fear and the silence, yet they weren't distraction enough for Arthur to forget his first aim, finally blowing the horn and sending Uther back behind the veil.

White light struck, Uther cried out. By the time he was gone, it was just Arthur and Merlin facing each other. Arthur with the horn fallen at his feet and a sword in his hand, Merlin still stuck on the door by two spears, trying to figure out what his next move should be, whether Arthur had heard his father.

"I know. I've known a long time."

The words were soft and uncaring, far from the outburst of rage and the complaints of betrayal Merlin had expected. He couldn't quite decide what surprised him most: that Arthur knew, or that Arthur had known for a long time without ever mentioning it, still condemning magic yet aware the man closest to him was practicing it. What mattered what that Arthur knew and had clearly accepted it.

"Don't take it as a license to practice freely though. I'd hate to have to sentence you to death".


	2. Chapter 2

Did Arthur not care that Merlin was practicing magic, or did her care too much about Merlin to condemn him for it?

As thankful as Merlin was for the king's acceptance, he had questions he needed answered, about how long he'd known for, why he hadn't taken any action, and why magic was still unlawful in Camelot.

Yet as Arthur freed him from the spears in complete silence, expecting questions about his own magic that never came, Merlin couldn't bring himself to ask any.

And so days passed, the status quo still in place, both men aware of the same secret but never acknowledging it openly. Despite fights against black magic, despite the uncertainty reigning around Morgana, Arthur never once openly asked Merlin to use his powers.

Instead, he did what he'd always done. He let Merlin wander off on his own under pretences they both knew to be false, and for the first time Merlin realised Arthur had been harbouring and protecting his magic, knowingly, and using it to strengthen his rule.

In the end, it all came down to a dragon, to the Great Dragon. Isolated in battle with no possibility to flee, surrounded by enemy forces, Merlin called on his Dragon Lord powers and summoned the dragon in full view of their opponents, the knights and a few more Camelot warriors.

Arthur watched the dragon burn away the enemy soldiers with a mixture of gratefulness and fear. Only when the animal landed by Merlin and bowed his head to him did he realise that the fear wasn't a fear of the dragon, of his fire or of the outcome of the battle.

Arthur feared what Merlin could do. Despite trusting Merlin, despite keeping him close and knowingly putting his life in his hands, Arthur feared his powers. Maintaining the situation they'd live in for month was easier, to the king's ego and to what he knew of ruling, than facing what a kingdom welcoming magic, than throwing away the last of his father's legacies.

As the knights looked up to him, uncertain of what to do with one of theirs who had, by the laws of Camelot, become the ultimate traitor, Arthur thanked the Great Dragon.

"Thank you. You had no reason to save us. My father kept you captive you for years under Camelot and when you tried to escape, he ordered you death."

"Don't thank me Arthur, thank the young warlock. Helping you wasn't my decision, it was his call and I had no choice but to answer it. The two of you will accomplish great things and unite Camelot towards his destiny, but only if you stop thinking I'm the enemy."


	3. Chapter 3

If asked under duress, Arthur wouldn't have been unable to pinpoint the exact moment he realised Merlin, clumsy Merlin, Merlin his servant and friend, was a warlock. It had been more of a process than a Eureka moment.

Even when his father was alive, Arthur had started to have doubts. There was Merlin's surprising ability to survive, considering his otherwise stupidity. There was his ability to be at the right place at the right time, whenever sorcery turned up in Camelot. There was his ability to make claims Arthur generally dismissed as ludicrous before realising he'd been right.

Not that Arthur had ever surprised Merlin in an act of magic, no. He had never seen his servant break any law of the land, not without his express consent anyway. Magic had a tendency to materialise when Merlin was around, but there was always at least one magical being around to justify it, or a rational explanation on hand. The king thought he might have heard weird tongues, but he had been knocked out each of these times, and the recollection could have been a result of his imagination.

What was definitely not a result of his royal brain, however, was his distinct feeling that Merlin felt equal to him in destiny. Merlin seemed convinced he had a role to play in Camelot's future, and not just as the king's trusted sidekick.

It wasn't just the servant's obtuse habit to stick with him in the darkest battle which had convinced Arthur so, more the knowing smile Merlin showed every time his king acted surprised at his abilities, that glimmer in his eyes which said "you have no idea". Arthur, taught from a young age that he would have to rule the kingdom, knew a thing or two about the burden of destiny, and he could recognise it in Merlin.

Since no rational explanation could explain how a servant born of a peasant woman would consider himself equal to a prince born of a king, Arthur started thinking about the less logical reasons.

What definitely convinced Arthur Merlin had magic however wasn't his attempts at rationally processing his servant's behaviour. It was his conversations with Gwen and some of his most trusted knights. Of course none of them ever confirmed anything, at least not in so many words, but there had been enough double entendre for Arthur to grow convinced that Merlin had magic and that his magic was the worst kept secret in Camelot.

Arthur's realisation that Merlin was a warlock was immediately followed by another, scary one: not only did Arthur not mind Merlin had magic, he wanted to protect him for it.


	4. Chapter 4

As the Great Dragon flew away, leaving behind carnage and perplexity, Arthur looked to his knights. He expected them to be angry or baffled or even surprised but what he saw was understanding, relief and a little bit of cockiness. Gwaine had clearly been on to Merlin's magic for a while and was happy to have been right.

The journey back to Camelot took place in utter silence, only broken by the horses' hooves and some clattering of fallen swords promptly picked up. The king wasn't talking; neither was his servant, and no one around them dared ask the first question.

They couldn't know that both Merlin and Arthur would have welcomed the prompting. It had been six months since Arthur had told Merlin he knew he had magic, six months since Merlin had known his best kept secret had been uncovered, six months of avoiding the subject.

Ever since he'd learnt of his destiny as Arthur protector's and Albion's enabler, Merlin had dreaded a big reveal, one where the danger was so great he would have no choice but to practice magic in full view of the entire kingdom.

This was exactly what had happened today and although he felt somewhat safe in his knowledge that Arthur wouldn't behead him, Merlin could only second-guess what the king would do now he'd broken the law in the most public of manners.

Arthur for his part was angry. He was angry at Merlin for putting him in such a difficult position, and angry at himself for letting the situation reach this point. Had he confronted the warlock earlier, they could have agreed on a plan of action. Well, assuming Merlin was capable of carrying any plan of action.

Now Arthur felt he had little choice but to either allow magic or ban Merlin. Killing Merlin had never been an option. Not only was the man his friend, but he was also pretty sure he owed him more lives than he could count. Arthur was convinced Merlin had never done anything bad with his magic, aside from unlawfully practicing it.

What Arthur needed was a way out of this situation which would be regal enough not to undermine his rule, and not to suggest to his people and enemies that they could carry on whatever they wanted under the king's very nose without him noticing.

And because Arthur knew no better way of working things out and had never relied on anyone else to bounce ideas of since he'd become king, the minute he got back to Camelot, he asked Merlin to join him in the throne room.


	5. Chapter 5

Merlin was highly aware the next few minutes could determine the future of magic in Camelot. This could be the one concrete chance he'd been waiting for to start uniting Albion. Never had Merlin wished so much he had the seer power of the druids.

The way Merlin saw it, the outcome of the meeting was simple: either Arthur declared magic lawful, or he banned him. The warlock was pretty sure he'd demonstrated his powers enough by now to instil fear in the king, not to mention he was ready to exaggerate his abilities a little if necessary.

"There is one thing I need to know Merlin: have you ever consorted with Morgana on magic matters?"

The warlock was taken aback. Not only had he not expected the question, he was hurt Arthur even entertained the thought.

"Never. I would never do anything to hurt you or this kingdom".

"So you only discovered she had magic at the same time as my father and me?"

"No. I had known for a while. In fact I probably knew before she did"

"But you chose to say nothing. You'd rather let the kingdom crumble and my father die than reveal your magic"

"This Arthur, is unfair. What did you expect me to do? Go to you and your father and reveal that your sister, his daughter, was a black magic-practicing priestess? Who do you think you'd have believed Arthur? Your servant or your blood?"

"Thinking we wouldn't listen never stopped you in other cases. You accused Bayard of poisoning my cup even though he was a king and you'd only been with me a few weeks"

"Morgana was different. I couldn't have proved she had magic without revealing mine"

"So you're saying you endangered the kingdom to save your neck?"

"It wasn't about me. It was never about me. Can't you see Arthur? All the magic I've ever done in Camelot, even keeping it secret, was only to make sure you were safe and to keep you out of harm's way. You're destined to be a great king, the greatest Albion has ever known, but this would never happen if you had died before Uther."

"So keeping Morgana's magic a secret was what exactly? A judgement call?"

"Something like that. I also thought that as long as I knew about Morgana, I could keep her in check. I never thought things would turn out the way they did."

"Nothing about Morgana turned out the way we thought Merlin."

Merlin could hear disappointment and tiredness in the king's voice. No matter how many times he'd imagined Arthur confronting him about magic, Morgana had never been part of the discussion. How wrong he had been.

Underestimating the strength of Arthur's feelings around Morgana's betrayal had been a mistake. Her very desire to reinstate magic in Camelot had rendered her half-brother more weary of it than ever.

It suddenly dawned on Merlin that Morgana was at least half the reason why magic was still banned in Camelot, and why Arthur hadn't broached the subject. If only he could prove him magic could not only be used for good but also be instrumental to peace and the happiness of his people.


	6. Chapter 6

" So Merlin do you think there is a future for magic in Camelot?"

"I think magic is Camelot's future Arthur"

"Says who?"

"Say the seer, the great dragon, the druids…"

"All magical beings Merlin! Give me one person who would argue magic is the way, without being himself magical."

"This Arthur isn't fair. Magic is outlawed. No one would willingly come out in its defence, even if they had nothing against it, even if they knew their health and security could benefit from magic being reinstated in Camelot. The risk is just too great, and no one, at least not me, would ever ask them to come forward."

"Have you ever cured using magic?"

"Yes"

"Yes who?"

"Yes you, the knights, your father… Anyone I could help really."

"Why couldn't you save my father then? When it came to it, why did we have to ask that old man who killed him?"

Once again, Merlin realised telling Arthur the whole truth about his practice of magic, as he had intended, wouldn't be easy. The king still held Old Merlin responsible for Uther's death. Should he tell him he and the bearded warlock were the same person, or should he keep it quiet, until things were more certain?

But Merlin had decided, once he'd known Arthur was aware of his magic, that he wouldn't put up any more charade, and this included being truthful to the king, even on the most difficult topics.

So Merlin reached for the blue vial he'd taken to carrying with him in all circumstances, and under Arthur's questioning eyes downed in.

The king's reaction to seeing Old Merlin materialise under his eyes was the one Merlin had expected Arthur to hold towards his magic. It was disbelief, hurt and betrayal. The king took a step back unconsciously, for the first time looking like he really feared what his servant was capable of.

"You. It was you."

"I didn't have a choice. You'd agreed to use magic but I couldn't know how you'd react upon seeing I was a warlock."

"So once again, you saved your neck and cost my father his life."

"No Morgana killed your father. She made sure any spell used on Uther would backfire. I did my best to save him Arthur, you've got to believe me."

"Even though he was against magic and would have had your skin had he known about you."

"He was your father Arthur. No one wants their friend's father dead."

"Have you ever used your magic for evil Merlin? Have you ever killed with magic?"


End file.
